•2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 19,1979
Mr. Landis
By SALLY BAIR
Staff writer
“It was squashy,” Kelly Herr, Columbia
R 2, said as she discussed her. first ex
perience in milking a cow. Craig-Jacobs,
Columbia R 2, disagreed, saying, “It felt
like rubber.”
Kelly and Craig are classmates of five
year-old Marvin Landis, to whom such
things as “squsshy” and “rubber” don’t
mean a thing because he has had lots of
experience with cows’ udders.
Marvin, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl N.
Landis, Manheim R 7, invited his 13
classmates from the Landisville Men
nonite Nursery School to visit his farm last
week and with this father’s help, he shared
some of his knowledge about the dairy
industry.
The Landis family is accustomed to
visitors because in the last few years they
have welcomed tourists to their guest
house, a small stone home next to their
large brick farm house. They always
invite visitors to take an interest in their
fanning operation, and are used to ex
plaining about the ways of a dairy farm.
Although several of the children said
they bad been close to animals before, just
one other child was from a farm, and some
Lifting a hay bale isn’t too difficult if there is some teamwork involved.
had never visited one not even living
here in the Garden Spot
As soon as they arrived at the farm,
Marvin’s father took them to the barn
where the 50 head of milking Holstein cows
had been kept in their stalls so the children
could get a close look.
Landis explained that within a week the
cows would be going out to pasture, and
that they are fed and milked twice daily.
He also told the preschoolers that the cows
averaged about 50 pounds of milk daily,
and showed them a milker pail as an
example of how much milk that was.
“Each cow has a name,” Earl told the
children, “and Marvin knows all the cows
by name. Each cow also has its own stall.”
The explanations were going along
nicely until he mentioned that each cow
was “washed off” before being milked, a
chore which Marvin often helps with.
Several children expressed surprise that
the cows would get a bath before being
milked. Landis quickly explained that it is
just the udder which is washed.
Now came the excitement. A specially
selected cow, huge but gentle, was offered
for the children to try to milk. There were
several eager children, but the majority
decided that milking that big Holstein cow
just wasn’t for them. Perhaps they agreed
with Travis Stiffler, Columbia Route 1,
who said later, “I didn’t milk a cow.,-
because I thought he would move and kick '
my leg.”
Several children were not intimidated by
the largei ass of the cow. Julie Bateman,
3207 Old Harrisburg Pike, Landisville,
said, “They were smaller than I thought
they would be.” And Shane Warren, who
was not awed by any of this said, “I knew
has
a farm...
how to milk a cow because I’ve been to
another farm, and they let me milk a cow.
I can milk cows all by myself.”
Lisa Nolt, Manheim R 2, said, “I milked
before so I knew how to milk. Marvin’s
daddy helped me.”
Every child who made the effort was
rewarded by a steady stream of milk, and
most agreed with Kelly, who added, “It
was fun.”
Kelly also wondered loudly if the milk
was dirty or clean, and Earl explained that
it was very clean. He showed them the
milker and told how the milk moves
through the pipeline to the bulk tank.
The next part of the education of the
preschoolers was the fact that “each cow
has a calf once a year.” Here Marvin took
the lead and proudly led the parade of
-children to the calf area. This was a big
hit, because the calves liked being petted,
and the children didn’t seem to mind being
licked, with just an occasional “I don’t
want to get licked.” There was much
giggling with the comment “He licked
me!”
Landis explained to the children that the
calves are feii milk “for the first 30 days
and free choice grain.” He also broke
apart a nearby bale of hay and explained
that each cow eats “two cakes” of the hay
daily.
From the baby calves, the children got
glimpses of the heifers in various stages of
growing up. One addition to the heifer pen
which drew much interest was a very
agreeable goat called “Chocolate.”
Chocolate also liked some petting and the
children were delighted to oblige.
Landis carefully explained how the
heifers are fed by a conveyor belt, which
he demonstrated.
When they visited the second floor of the
bam, the children were amazed at the hay
and straw bales piled high, and looked on
in fascination as Landis showed them how
the bales nde the elevator to the top of the
mow. The resident cat and dog, Pepsi,
played a great game of climbing on the
bales, and the children enjoyed watching.
There was also a matching of strength to
see who could lift a straw bale the highest.
The next attraction on the Landis farm
was a single beehive which the family
keeps, and which produced over 200
pounds of honey last year. Landis
demonstrated the protective coverings he
uses when he works with -the hive, and
showed a frame which he was about to add
to the hive. The children also learned how
the honey is gotten from the frame with the
use of an extractor. One child commented
on how the bees must feel when you take
their honey away, “They must ask what do
you think you’re doing with my stuff?”
While everyone kept a respectful
distance from the hive, Craig explained
why he didn’t want to get any closer, “I got
stinged two times! ’’
Marvin Landis, an old hand at helping around the barn, is able to milk a cow
handily.
A visit to the Landis patio brought what
was the highlight for many of the children
a snack of nutritious milk and cookies.
Conversation continued throughout the
snack, with Travis saying, “I like the milk
best.” Julie was not particular. She said,
“I like the snack best.”
In a discussion of the merits of milk, Lori
Koser, Mount Joy R 3, said, “It helps you
grow up to be strong.” Kelly added, “It
makes you healthy.” Kelly admitted that
for her the calves were the biggest at
traction and said she thinks it would be fun
to live on a farm.
The visit to the farm was not the only
exposure to the dairy industry for this
class of preschoolers. In their next regular
class time at the church, they discussed
wmesfpad
with their teacher, Mrs. Carol Adey, what
they had learned. It became clear quickly
that the biggest impression was made by
the size of the Holsteins, followed closely
by the snack, the goat and the bale of hay
falling from the hay elevator.
Mrs. Adey had prepared a series of
riddles about the farm and the children
So that’s how the hay gets to the top of the mow! The children watch In
fascination as the elevator is demonstrated.
answered almost every one. The riddles
included, “I am black and white and very
big” (a cow), and “I hm a machine that
the man attaches to the cow’s udder.” This
riddle could only be answered by host
Marvin, as the milking machine.
Marvin also answered the riddle “I am
' tall and hold food for the cows” which was
a silo.
In the ensuing discussion about milking,
it was asked why farmers don’t mflk cows
by hand, and Matthew Grueber, Mtr Joy
R 3, answered succinctly, “You can get it
-better with the machine.” Shane Warren,
Lancaster, added, “It wouldprobably take
an hour to milk by hand.”
To top off their learning experience,
Mrs. Adey read “The Dairy Cow and Her
Marvelous Milk,” a story coloring book
c H/offis
designed to help young children un
derstand the dairy industry.
All in all, it was an interesting time for
those preschoolers and for the mothers
and teachers who accompanied them to
the farm. Learning about milk first hand
made a big impression, and is sure to be a
boon to the daily industry and helpful in
forming good habits among preschoolers.
r l